by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

George gets to go head-to-head with NBA MVP LeBron James in the Eastern Conference finals, which begin Wednesday (8:30 p.m. TNT) at the Miami Heat's American Airlines Arena.

It is the biggest basketball test - both physical and mental - in 23-year-old George's career. This season, the Pacers were 2-1 against the Heat, and George averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 42.0 minutes a game against Miami.

James and George were on the court together for 116 minutes in those three games. Both played well, and both made scoring difficult for the other.

"He's very athletic, with long arms, and his anticipation is very good," James said before a previous game. "He also has a lot of help behind him, they're the No. 1 defense for a reason. He's a really good defender, one of the best we have in our game."

That moniker was put to the test in the East semifinals against the New York Knicks. George took on the league's leading scorer in Carmelo Anthony. In the series-clinching Game 6, Anthony had 39 points, but four in the fourth quarter when the Pacers put the game away.

"You've got to know that he's going to make shots, and I know not to get discouraged when he's making shots," George said. "I've just got to make sure they're tough."

Indiana's two wins vs. the Heat were in January and February, before the Heat went on their dominating run that is still in progress. Miami is 45-3 since losing to the Pacers in Indianapolis on Feb. 1.

Miami won the final matchup 105-91, and George scored 10 points on 2-for-11 shooting.

"Obviously playoff games and regular-season games are different," James said. "You have more time to prepare for guys' pros and cons. I have a lot more time to key in on guys I'm going to be guarding, the sets they like to run and the sets they like to run more in the first quarter than they do in the fourth quarter.

"In the playoffs, you have that much more time to prepare. â?¦ For our team, we like that advantage."